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Wednesday, January 14, 2015

From what I saw in AFL games, O’Brien has a long way to go to become a major league catcher.

After saying last week the Diamondbacks would be comfortable going into the season with their current catchers if a better option didn’t present itself, General Manager Dave Stewart took it a step further Tuesday, saying the club will not make an addition, in large part because of the development of prospect Peter O’Brien.

“I’ve decided that I’m not going to pursue another catcher,” Stewart said. “I talked with my people and my coaching staff. They believe that O’Brien is going to be around sooner than later. If that does happen, there’s no need to go out and get another guy.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

As for Shields, Stewart said he has spoken multiple times with his agent, Page Odle, to “work on groundwork.” Shields’ market has been murky, although there was a report last week of him receiving a five-year, $110 million offer. On Monday night, FOX Sports reported that offer came from a team with which Shields did not want to sign.

Stewart said he believes Shields likes what the Diamondbacks are doing as an organization.

“I think James is a throwback guy by the way he goes about his business and the innings he pitches,” Stewart said. “I think the fact that Tony (La Russa) is here and that we have more baseball people – he probably sees us as a true baseball team vs. some of the other teams out here that are geared more toward analytics and those type of things.